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AN ACT relating to school foods. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 158.854 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) The Kentucky Board of Education shall promulgate an administrative regulation in 4
accordance with KRS Chapter 13A to specify the minimum nutritional standards 5
for all foods and beverages th at are sold outside the National School Breakfast and 6
National School Lunch programs, whether in vending machines, school stores, 7
canteens, or a la carte cafeteria sales. Minimum nutritional standards shall be based 8
on the most recent edition of the United States Department of Agriculture's Dietary 9
Guidelines for Americans. The administrative regulation shall address serving size, 10
sugar, and fat content of the foods and beverages. School districts may impose more 11
stringent standards than the standards imple mented under the administrative 12
regulation. A school shall follow the minimum standards specified in the 13
administrative regulation unless a waiver has been requested under KRS 156.161 by 14
the school district for the school from the Kentucky Board of Educati on. 15
Notwithstanding the duration of a waiver granted under KRS 156.161, any waiver 16
approved by the Kentucky Board of Education relating to this section shall be 17
reviewed on an annual basis. 18
(2) As used in this section: 19
(a) "Competitive food" means any food or beverage item sold in competition with 20
the National School Breakfast and National School Lunch programs. The term 21
does not include any food or beverage sold a la carte in the cafeteria; 22
(b) "School day" means the period of time between the arrival of the first student 23
at the school building and the end of the last instructional period;[ and] 24
(c) "School-day-approved beverage" means water, one hundred percent (100%) 25
fruit juice, lowfat milk, a nd any beverage that contains no more than ten (10) 26
grams of sugar per serving; and 27
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(d) "Student-based enterprise" means a district -approved program operated by 1
a school district's students as part of a course designed to provide students 2
with knowledge and experience of the operation of a business. 3
(3) No school may sell competitive foods or beverages from the time of the arrival of 4
the first student at the school building until thirty (30) minutes after the last lunch 5
period. 6
(4) Only school-day-approved beverages shall be sold in elementary schools during the 7
school day in vending machines, school stores, canteens, or fundraisers that sell 8
beverages by students, teachers, or groups. 9
(5) Nothing in this section or KRS 158.850 shall be construed to limit th e sale of any 10
foods or beverages by fundraisers off school property. 11
(6) Notwithstanding subsection (3) of this section, a local board of education may 12
identify a student-based enterprise to sell competitive foods throughout the school 13
day. The local board may establish policies for the operation of the student -based 14
enterprise and for the use of the proceeds from the operation of the student -based 15
enterprise. Competitive foods sold by a student-based enterprise shall comply with 16
the minimum nutritional sta ndards established under subsection (1) of this 17
section. 18
Section 2. KRS 156.160 is amended to read as follows: 19
(1) With the advice of the Local Superintendents Advisory Council, the Kentucky 20
Board of Education shall prom ulgate administrative regulations establishing 21
standards which school districts shall meet in student, program, service, and 22
operational performance. These regulations shall comply with the expected 23
outcomes for students and schools set forth in KRS 158.64 51. Administrative 24
regulations shall be promulgated for the following: 25
(a) Courses of study for the different grades and kinds of common schools 26
identifying the common curriculum content directly tied to the goals, 27
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outcomes, and assessment strategies devel oped under KRS 158.645, 1
158.6451, and 158.6453 and distributed to local school districts and schools. 2
The administrative regulations shall provide that: 3
1. If a school offers American sign language, the course shall be accepted 4
as meeting the foreign langu age requirements in common schools 5
notwithstanding other provisions of law; 6
2. If a school offers the Reserve Officers Training Corps program, the 7
course shall be accepted as meeting the physical education requirement 8
for high school graduation notwithstanding other provisions of law; 9
3. Every public middle and high school's curriculum shall include 10
instruction on the Holocaust and other cases of genocide, as defined by 11
the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the 12
Crime of Genocide, that a court of competent jurisdiction, whether a 13
court in the United States or the International Court of Justice, has 14
determined to have been committed by applying rigorous standards of 15
due process; and 16
4. Beginning in the 2025 -2026 school year, cursive writing shall be 17
included as a course of study in all elementary schools and shall be 18
designed to ensure proficiency in cursive writing by the end of grade 19
five (5); 20
(b) Courses of study or educational experiences available to students in all middle 21
and h igh schools to fulfill the prerequisites for courses in advanced science 22
and mathematics as defined in KRS 158.845; 23
(c) The acquisition and use of educational equipment for the schools as 24
recommended by the Council for Education Technology; 25
(d) The minimum requirements for high school graduation in light of the 26
expected outcomes for students and schools set forth in KRS 158.6451. The 27
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minimum requirements shall not include achieving any postsecondary 1
readiness indicator as described in KRS 158.6455 or any mi nimum score on a 2
statewide assessment administered under KRS 158.6453. Student scores from 3
any assessment administered under KRS 158.6453 that are determined by the 4
department's technical advisory committee to be valid and reliable at the 5
individual level shall be included on the student transcript. The department's 6
technical advisory committee shall submit its determination to the 7
commissioner of education and the Legislative Research Commission; 8
(e) The requirements for an alternative high school diploma for students with 9
disabilities whose individualized education program indicates that, in 10
accordance with 20 U.S.C. sec. 1414(d)(1)(A): 11
1. The student cannot participate in the regular statewide assessment; and 12
2. An appropriate alternate assessment has bee n selected for the student 13
based upon a modified curriculum and an individualized course of 14
study; 15
(f) Taking and keeping a school census, and the forms, blanks, and software to be 16
used in taking and keeping the census and in compiling the required reports . 17
The board shall create a statewide student identification numbering system 18
based on students' Social Security numbers. The system shall provide a 19
student identification number similar to, but distinct from, the Social Security 20
number, for each student wh o does not have a Social Security number or 21
whose parents or guardians choose not to disclose the Social Security number 22
for the student; 23
(g) Sanitary and protective construction of public school buildings, toilets, 24
physical equipment of school grounds, school buildings, and classrooms. With 25
respect to physical standards of sanitary and protective construction for school 26
buildings, the Kentucky Board of Education shall adopt the Uniform State 27
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Building Code; 1
(h) Medical inspection, physical and health educat ion and recreation, and other 2
regulations necessary or advisable for the protection of the physical welfare 3
and safety of the public school children. The administrative regulations shall 4
set requirements for student health standards to be met by all studen ts in 5
grades four (4), eight (8), and twelve (12) pursuant to the outcomes described 6
in KRS 158.6451. The administrative regulations shall permit a student who 7
received a physical examination no more than six (6) months prior to his or 8
her initial admissio n to Head Start to substitute that physical examination for 9
the physical examination required by the Kentucky Board of Education of all 10
students upon initial admission to the public schools, if the physical 11
examination given in the Head Start program meets all the requirements of the 12
physical examinations prescribed by the Kentucky Board of Education; 13
(i) A vision examination by an optometrist or ophthalmologist that shall be 14
required by the Kentucky Board of Education. The administrative regulations 15
shall require evidence that a vision examination that meets the criteria 16
prescribed by the Kentucky Board of Education has been performed. This 17
evidence shall be submitted to the school no later than January 1 of the first 18
year that a three (3), four (4), five ( 5), or six (6) year-old child is enrolled in a 19
public school, public preschool, or Head Start program; 20
(j) 1. Beginning with the 2010 -2011 school year, a dental screening or 21
examination by a dentist, dental hygienist, physician, registered nurse, 22
advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant that shall be 23
required by the Kentucky Board of Education. The administrative 24
regulations shall require evidence that a dental screening or examination 25
that meets the criteria prescribed by the Kentucky Boa rd of Education 26
has been performed. This evidence shall be submitted to the school no 27
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later than January 1 of the first year that a five (5) or six (6) year -old 1
child is enrolled in a public school. 2
2. A child shall be referred to a licensed dentist if a dental screening or 3
examination performed by anyone other than a licensed dentist identifies 4
the possibility of dental disease; 5
(k) The transportation of children to and from school; 6
(l) The fixing of holidays on which schools may be closed and special days to be 7
observed, and the pay of teachers during absence because of sickness or 8
quarantine or when the schools are closed because of quarantine; 9
(m) The preparation of budgets and salary schedules for th e several school 10
districts under the management and control of the Kentucky Board of 11
Education; 12
(n) A uniform series of forms and blanks, educational and financial, including 13
forms of contracts, for use in the several school districts; 14
(o) The disposal of real and personal property owned by local boards of 15
education; and 16
(p) The development and implementation of procedures, for all students who are 17
homeless children and youths as defined in 42 U.S.C. sec. 11434a(2), to do 18
the following: 19
1. Awarding and acce pting of credit, including partial credit, for all 20
coursework satisfactorily completed by a student while enrolled at 21
another school; 22
2. Allowing a student who was previously enrolled in a course required for 23
graduation the opportunity, to the extent pract icable, to complete the 24
course, at no cost to the student, before the beginning of the next school 25
year; 26
3. Awarding a diploma, at the student's request, by a district from which 27
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the student transferred, if the student transfers schools at any time after 1
the completion of the student's second year of high school and the 2
student is ineligible to graduate from the district to which the student 3
transfers, but meets the graduation requirements of the district from 4
which the student transferred; and 5
4. Exempting the student from all coursework and other requirements 6
imposed by the local board of education that are in addition to the 7
minimum requirements for high school graduation established by the 8
Kentucky Board of Education pursuant to paragraph (d) of this 9
subsection in the district to which the student transfers, if the student 10
transfers schools at any time after the completion of the student's second 11
year of high school and the student is ineligible to graduate both from 12
the district to which the student tran sfers and the district from which the 13
student transferred. 14
(2) Any private, parochial, or church school may voluntarily comply with curriculum, 15
certification, and textbook standards established by the Kentucky Board of 16
Education and be certified upon application to the board by such schools. 17
(3) (a) Any public school that violates the provisions of KRS 158.854 shall be 18
subject to a penalty to be assessed by the commissioner of education as 19
follows: 20
1.[(a)] The first violation shall result in a fine of no le ss than one (1) 21
week's revenue from the sale of the competitive food; 22
2.[(b)] Subsequent violations shall result in a fine of no less than one (1) 23
month's revenue from the sale of the competitive food; 24
3.[(c)] "Habitual violations," which means five (5) or more violations 25
within a six (6) month period, shall result in a six (6) month ban on 26
competitive food sales for the violating school; and 27
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4.[(d)] Revenue collected as a result of the fines in this subsection shall be 1
transferred to the food service fund of the local school district. 2
(b) Penalties under this subsection shall not be applicable to a student -based 3
enterprise operating under Section 1 of this Act. 4